Tag Archives: Christian Laettner

The first major catalog auction of 2017 opened Wednesday morning as SCP Auctions opened the curtain on its Winter Premier event. Over 1,000 lots are on the block including never-before-offered items from Babe Ruth, Vince Lombardi, George Blanda and other well-known names. The auction is set to run through January 21.

SCP Auctions’ 2017 Winter Premier online auction begins January 4 and runs through Saturday, January 21, at www.scpauctions.com. Coveted items from the family of Babe Ruth, along with cherished pieces from the Vince Lombardi and George Blanda families lead the way in this New Year’s auction that includes 1,021 outstanding lots. Other top lots include 1992 “Dream Team” memorabilia from Christian Laettner; James J. Braddock’s 1935 heavyweight championship belt; a pair of Rocky Marciano’s bout-worn boxing gloves from his 1953 heavyweight title defense versus Jersey Joe Walcott; a Joe DiMaggio game-used bat from the 1947 World Series; and a 1967 Roger Maris St. Louis Cardinals game-worn jersey from the Redbirds’ World Series championship season that’s been graded A9 by MEARS.

SCP Auctions is proud to announce that it will be unveiling the Christian Laettner Collection as part of its Winter Premier online auction in January. More than two dozen lots chronicling Laettner’s prolific college basketball career at Duke and run with the 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball “Dream Team” will go up for bid including a pair of NCAA Final Four rings Laettner earned during his freshman (1989) and sophomore (’90) seasons, respectively. Bidding will begin on Wed., Jan. 4, and run through Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

He was the 6′ 11″ star on the Blue Devils’ back-to-back national championship basketball teams of 1991 and ’92, the school’s first two national titles in history, and is forever etched in the minds of college basketball fans by virtue of his iconic, game-winning jump shot against the Kentucky Wildcats in the 1992 NCAA East Regional Final. A four-year starter, he also made critical contributions to Duke’s runner-up finish his sophomore year and Final Four appearance his freshman year. During his senior season of 1991-92, he averaged 21.5 points per game and secured every major National Player of the Year award. Duke retired his No. 32 jersey later that year and he was subsequently enshrined in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. As the reigning National Player of the Year, Laettner was the only collegian selected to the 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team, which won the gold medal in dominant fashion by outscoring its opponents by an average of 44 points. Selected No. 3 overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Laettner went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA. From 1992 to 2005, he scored a total of 11,121 points, pulled down 5,806 rebounds and made 2,224 assists.

Online bidding begins on Wed., January 4, and runs through Sat., January 21. Make sure you are registered to bid by calling SCP Auctions at 949-831-3700. -Terry Melia

Christian Laettner and “The Shot” are forever linked in basketball lore. Depending on one’s loyalty, it was either a miracle or a tragedy. There were 2.1 seconds remaining in overtime in the 1992 NCAA East Regional Final and Duke trailed Kentucky 103-102. Laettner took a 70-foot inbounds pass from Grant Hill at the top of the key, faked right, turned to the left and dribbled once, and then buried the game-winning shot against Kentucky. That would lead to Duke’s second national title.